Improvement in cossteuction of dikes, levees, aid embankments



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IMPROVEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION OP BIKES, LEVEES, AND EMBANKMENTS.

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To ALL WHOM 1r MAY coNoERN:

Be it known that'I, JOHN C. SCHOOLEY, of the city of New York, in"= the county and State of New York, he Construction oi' Dikes, Levees, and ArtiticialEmbankme'nts have invented a new and useful Improvement in ,t

and I do hereby declare `on the borders ofoceans, seas, lakes, rivers, canals, and all kinds of writencourses;` thatvthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

Lands subject to overflow have'been reclaimed by the ordinary dike, levee, or simpleearthen embankment. Most of such lands thus reclaimed have been abandoned, principally on account of the ravages ofthe muskrat, crawsh, and other borers that infest marsh-lands, andthe banks of rivers, canals, and all earthen embankments constructed on their border; also, in consequence of the immense costjof keeping such embankmcnts in repair. The levees on the Mississippi river are honey-combed by the crawfish, and the banks ofveanals are nightly perforated by t-he muskrat. l y 4 It is evident, therefore, that in order to construct an embankment or levee which will be strong, permanent, land impervious to water or the ravages ot' borers, it must contain a core or spinal column of some solid material that will notl corrode nor decay, andwhichcannot be perforated by animals; and toinsure such a core from the' danger of leakage, it should be constructed in a continuous column, without loose or open joints.

I am aware that iron plates havebeenA proposed inv the construction of dams, dikes, and levees, said plates to be forced down into the earth .in sections, or riveted together before bein pressed down. The objections to iron plates are, first, their immense cost, if even found practicable to have them cast in sections suiliciently large to answer the required purpose; second, the certainty of corrosion and speedy decay unless the plates are entirelyl and completely covered with an impervious coating, which also adds greatly to the cost.

My improvement consists in constructing a core or spinal'colutnn within an earthen dike or levee, above or below the natural surface of the earth, thefsaid core being formed by pouring into a prepared channel any vsuitable liquid material which will become hardened when cooled, thus forming a continuous lineV ot' impervious wall without open joints.` I I A material composed of the proper' proportions of powdered coal, sand, pitch, and cows hair, or of any other suitable ingredients, andl even metals will, be liquid when heated, and canvbe poured into a prepared .channel ota sui'tablewidth. Such materials will become hard when cooled, and, being one continuous core vwithout open joints, -will be completelyimpervious to water, an

stone, and will necessarily withstand the ravages of'muskrats, crawfish, and other borers.

It is also evident that such a. core may be composed of ingredients which will not corrodenornbc aiected by the acids and gases of the decayed vegetable matter contained in marsh-soil, and the cost evidently cannot be much greater than that of ordinary tooling-material. Y. i i

vIf a channel is excavated bymeans of a wheel, cutting` a passage through the earth to the required depth,

` or by any other suitable mechanism, the liquid or mixture can be made to ilowvinto the passage from a machine unade to do the entire work as fast as the passage is excavated; or if it is found necessary to make the excava tion in sections, by sinking portable moulds that can be drawn out a'fter the materia-l has beempoured into them,

'and\leaving the solid substance in the earth, or by sinking a solid plate into the earth, leaving a channel to receive the mixture, the joints can be flowed together by the same material.

Inmrder that others skilled in the art may understand the nature of my invention, I willrefer to the annexed\drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View of a portable wooden or metal mould, e, fitted into the channel d, pre pared in the natural bank, in which to pour the mixture while the same is in a heated or liquid state, thus enabling the core, when cast or moulded, to reach the requiredldistanoe above the surface a of the marsh. Z1 is the low-water and c the high-water mark.

Figure 2 represents a verticalsectional view of a constructed dike as applied to the reclamation of marsh= land, subject to tidal or other overl-low. a a is the surface ot' the marsh; b is the low-water mark, and c the high-water mark. h is a ditch, made on the inside of the dike to catch the rain-fall from lateral drains, and also any water Athat may ind its way through from the outside.

g is the artificial embankment, made from earth d will become almost as hard and-compact as excavated in forming the ditch. f is the core or spinal column, inserted in the natural and artificial embankment, so as to reach from above thehighest water mark to below the lowest water mark.

Figure 3 is a verticalvsectional view of the mould e', required for Vcasting the core, in an inclined position for 1evees,'being the same as described in fig. 1, only differing in form.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View of a levee, constructed on a vnatural or solid bank on the borders of waters 'subject to overfiow. a a is the top of the bank; bis the low and c Vthe high-water mark. g is the earthenilevee after being constructed. fis the core, inelininglfrom the water, and supported, if desired, by a temporary wooden brace in the rear at intervals.

If the earthen embankments are thrown up to the required heightbefore the channel is made for the core, the moulds, as described in figs. 1 and 3, can bedispcnsed with, as the channel in that case will commence from a point above high-water mark. V v

In constructing a dike on the'borders of marshy lands, I propose to commence the channel for the core at a suitable distance from the water, and after the channel is' prepared to the required depth, the mixture is poured into the channel until it reaches the required height, which is regulated by the mould. It' the moulds are to be used, the earth is not thrown up until the core is cast, and when cast and the mould removed, it is covered entirely with earth, thus forming a solid embankment containing a continuousimpervious core.

In constructing the levees on the top of a. natural bank with an inclined core, when the moulds are not used, the embankment is thrown up before the channel is prepared, but if the moulds are used, the core is supported at intervals from the rear after the moulds have been removed, and then the earth is thrown over the entire structure.

I donot claim as any part of my invention either oi' the described modes of preparing a channel for the core, nor do I confine myself` to any particular mixture or material for forming the core, but

What I do claim Yas my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The construction of an impervious and continuous core for dikes or levees, formed by pouring into a prepared channel any suitable material or mixture, in a heated or liquid state, that will become hardened when Y cooled, substantially as and for the purpose specified.A

2. vI also claim the construction and arrangement of the portable metal, earthen,for wooden mould, when adapted to receive and deposit the core in its liquid state, in the prepared channel, and above it, in the manner and for the purpose specified.

i JOHN C. SCIIOOLEY.

Witnesses:

WM. F, MCNAMARA, ALEX. F. ROBERTS. 

